Review by Sonny for Brume - Rabbits (2019)

Brume are a doom metal trio from San Francisco with a sound that features thick, heavy riffs and vocals from singer/bassist Susie McMullan that have the soaring, ethereal qualities of singers like Dorthia Cottrell and Portishead's Beth Gibbons. Their releases are all inexplicably named after animals, this latest, Rabbits (following Rooster and Donkey) features five tracks, mostly spanning the 8 to 10 minute mark.

It kicks off strongly with the albums two heaviest tracks, Despondence and Scurry. Both are doom-laden monsters yet still have a kind of catchiness that makes them memorable. Blue Jay starts as a gentler affair, with piano and strings, but then loads on the heaviness to a peak before fading again to a closing calm. The album's longest track, Lament, begins as another restrained affair, with a feel of bands like the aforementioned Portishead, albeit a much heavier iteration of that sound, as it resolves towards a thunderous climax. Closing track Autocrat's Fool has an earthy, ritualistic atmosphere, supplied by a paganistic drumbeat and naturalistic vocals, punctuated by moments of riff-heavy oppressiveness.

All in all a well-paced album of female-fronted doom metal that taps into the best of the genre, with plenty of variation but without skimping on the riffs.